Rivers LG Polls: Police Announces 18-hour Curfew, Exempts Pressmen, Essential Workers

ITODE AKARI

The Rivers State Police Command has announced an 18-hour curfew starting from Saturday, August 30 2025 till 6pm August 31st, as a measure to avert security breaches during the scheduled August 30 Local Government election.

Speaking at a joint security briefing at RSIEC headquarters in Port Harcourt on Thursday, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olubenga Adepoju noted that the curfew is geared towards ensuring safety during the election.

The CP also disclosed that operatives have done security sweeps around hotspots to ensure that criminal elements don’t foment trouble before and during the local government elections.

CP Adepoju emphasised that to ensure watertight security, accreditation passes for essential workers and the media will be released late to prevent falsification of such credentials.

He said, “We will do it very close to the time so that it cannot be forged and even if it is forged the security agencies will let you know things to look at for and to let you know that the ID card is fake.

“Election observers and media will be given stickers to enable them observe in a very free and fair condition all activities going on.

“Early hours of 30th at 12 midnight, there will be a curfew till 6pm just as it’s been done on election day to ensure the safety of people.”

Also speaking, The Chairman, Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Dr. Michael Odey said the commission is in the pre-implementation stage, assuring Rivers people of RISIEC’s readiness to conduct free, fair and transparent local government elections in the state.

He explained that the commission had purchased raincoats, umbrellas for those working on the election day to ensure that rain does not stop their work.

Dr. Odey noted that the AdHoc staff to be deployed for the election were trained to ensure due processes were followed and urged the people to cooperate with them to ensure a seamless election.

He added that Non-Sensitive materials are already been transported under heavy security protection to the different local government areas of the state in preparation for the elections